Trump refuses to take questions at White House event after bombshell tax revelations

‘Even as Trump took advantage of tax laws that benefit the wealthy, quite possibly in illegal ways, he worked with Republicans to make those laws in many ways even more beneficial to the super-rich,’ says Democratic lawmaker

Donald Trump on Monday did not take reporters’ questions as he concluded an event on coronavirus testing a day after an explosive report based on previously secret financial documents that revealed he paid no federal taxes some years and took heavy losses despite selling himself as a business savant. 

The president refused during a Sunday evening press conference to discuss a New York Times report based on documents spelling out a clearer picture of his efforts to pay little or no taxes for years, his overseas revenue streams, and hundreds of millions of dollars his businesses are losing. They also revealed a $70,000 tax write-off of hair-styling and hundreds of millions in consulting payments to his oldest daughter, now-White House adviser Ivanka Trump.

On Sunday, Mr Trump dismissed the report as fake news and would not discuss the contents of the article or what it says is in the documents.

The president used a tweet thread earlier in the day to sound off on the latest scandal of his time in office.

“The Fake News Media, just like Election time 2016, is bringing up my Taxes & all sorts of other nonsense with illegally obtained information & only bad intent,” the president claimed. “I paid many millions of dollars in taxes but was entitled, like everyone else, to depreciation & tax credits.”

“Also, if you look at the extraordinary assets owned by me, which the Fake News hasn’t, I am extremely under leveraged - I have very little debt compared to the value of assets,” he added. “Much of this information is already on file, but I have long said that I may release Financial Statements, from  the time I announced I was going to run for President,  showing all properties, assets and debts.”

“It is a very IMPRESSIVE Statement,” Mr Trump continued, “and also shows that I am the only President on record to give up my yearly $400,000 plus Presidential Salary!”

House and Senate Democrats, as well as Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, have slammed Mr Trump for what is reportedly in the records. 

Speaker Nancy Pelosi told MSNBC his debts and foreign-based streams of income make his prone to blackmail and could be a national security risk.

Experts say both could lead the diplomat in chief to make decisions against US interests abroad that would help his financial situation.

One government watchdog zeroed in on the extremely pricey haircut write-off.

“Taxpayers paid Trump's business $33,000 for Steven Mnuchin's Secret Service costs the very same year Trump paid $750 in federal taxes,” Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) tweeted of the treasury secretary. “Meanwhile, Mnuchin was helping Trump keep his tax returns hidden. Any questions?”

Democratic lawmakers have criticized the president, but there is little they can do. Hearings are likely, but they have signaled the ball is in the court of the tax-collecting Internal Revenue Service.

“Even as Trump took advantage of tax laws that benefit the wealthy, quite possibly in illegal ways, he worked with Republicans to make those laws in many ways even more beneficial to the super-rich. More than half of American households have an annual income smaller than the sum Trump wrote off for hair expenses, yet his most consistent policy initiative has been his attempts to weaken their health care protections," Congressman Dan Beyer of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee said on Monday. 

“Trump offset the substantial losses of his personally-branded properties by using his office to boost the profile of those properties. He welcomed the patronage of rich supporters and wealthy corporations who in many cases were rewarded with influence," he added. “He spent American taxpayer dollars at his properties with frequent visits, and solicited the support of foreign investors and governments through unconstitutional emoluments. The national security ramifications of his corruption are grave.”